Learn the story behind these almost-identical films—and which one was a hit at the box office

As far as creative industries go, the movie business isn't renowned for its originality. Once a studio hits it big with a concept, the others line up with imitations. For example, after the success of Die Hard, copycats cropped up everywhere: Die Hard on a bus (Speed), on a boat (Under Siege and Speed 2: Cruise Control), on a plane (Passenger 57 and Air Force One) and on a train (Under Siege 2: Dark Territory). Sometimes, however, the imitation starts even earlier in the movie-making process, when a catchy idea finds its way into similar flicks that happen to hit theaters around the same time. Occasionally it's because of chance, but more often than not, it's the result of clashing studios or similar source material. With news circulating about the latest dueling duo to hit theaters—two takes on Snow White this spring; one with Charlize Theron, the other with Julia Roberts—we thought it fitting to look at doppelganger films of years past.

Back story: Over the years, myriad directors—opera, ballet, TV and radio—have tried to create the ultimate adaptation of Pierre Choderlos de Laclos' 18th century novel Les Liaisons Dangereuses. Thus, it was no surprise when Hollywood took interest—except that its adaptations arrived in theaters within a year of each other. What it boiled down to was this: Dangerous Liaisons director, Stephen Frears, had one creative vision and Valmont director, Milos Forman, had another. The films are drastically different in tone, but got lumped together owing to the common source material.

Winner:Dangerous Liaisons received better reviews. More importantly, it received far more Oscar attention, with seven nominations and three wins. It also made an insta-star out of the then 17-year-old Uma Thurman.

Back story: Originally attached to Tombstone, Kevin Costner bowed out when he learned that the script focused on a range of characters, as opposed to Wyatt Earp alone. In turn, Costner went on to produce and star in Wyatt Earp. It's said he pressured other studios to stay out of his way (read: make Tombstone flail by lack of distribution). While Costner's requests made it more challenging for the Tombstone producers to snare A-list actors, the film ultimately sank its rival.

Winner:Tombstone. It can probably thank Costner's ego for the lift: The self-important Wyatt Earp ran a full hour longer, clocking in at a staggering three hours and 10 minutes.

Back story: The life of running legend Steve Prefontaine was bio-flick catnip. Blessed with an iron will and twin reservoirs of confidence and talent, Prefontaine turned the track establishment on its head before he died tragically in a car accident at the age of 24. After his death, the people who knew him best lined up to tell his story. Prefontaine, which hit theaters first, is told from the perspective of University of Oregon assistant coach Bill Dellinger and Prefontaine's last girlfriend Nancy Alleman. Without Limits, on the other hand, tapped the recollections of head coach (and future Nike shoe founder) Bill Bowerman and Prefontaine's second-to-last girlfriend, Mary Marckx. There's no solid evidence that the two camps couldn't agree on a direction for the film, but the fact that certain major characters were excised from one film or the other suggests some degree of conflict.

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Winner: Tie. Neither film grossed $1 million domestically. Perhaps audiences didn't need two films about an athlete who, while a hero to those in the track-and-field world, lacks appeal and name recognition among casual sports enthusiasts.

Back story: There's no other way to put it: A Bug's Life and Antz were the pawns in a larger Disney vs. DreamWorks battle—though you won't find any evidence of it on the record. It's reported that Disney had been toying with the idea of a movie about ants since the late 1980s; then, as part of a distribution deal with Pixar, Disney backed the animation studio's own pest-centric film A Bug's Life in 1994—right as Disney's top exec Jeffrey Katzenberg was being pushed out. Katzenberg, who was co-founding DreamWorks, allegedly knew when A Bug's Life was set for release, and was unhappy that it would conflict with his own studio's release of The Prince of Egypt. Unable to persuade Disney to bump the release date, he supposedly worked behind the scenes to push up the release of his own movie about insects, Antz, in an effort to trump Disney.

Winner: A Bug's Life. Both animated films were commercially successful and well-received by critics, but A Bug's Life made more money domestically and abroad. Pixar gets the nod, as usual.

Back story: When it became clear that two movies were treading a similar Earth-against-outer-space story arch, the studios took pains to distinguish them from one another in the press—but not much could be done. Deep Impact had emotion and a killer comet; Armageddon had super-explosions and a killer asteroid. They didn't jockey for scheduling position; it was assumed that summer was big enough for both films, however similar their plots—and it was.

Winner: Tie. Both films were loud, action-packed, and made huge sums of money in the U.S. and abroad.

Back story: What happens inside the White House never ceases to intrigue. And as a culture, we're particularly fascinated by presidential first daughters, such as Amy Carter and, more recently, Chelsea Clinton. The result? Two flicks following a fictional first daughter who rebels against the constraints of her life. Twentieth Century Fox gambled that Katie Holmes' appeal in the title role of First Daughter would help them overcome arriving second to market—unfortunately, it didn't.

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Winner: Chasing Liberty. It made more at the box office, but truth be told, both movies were seen as commercial failures.

Back story: There is zero evidence to suggest that auteurs Zach Braff and Cameron Crowe raced to get their similarly-plotted films into the theater first, or that there was any studio bullying or back-dealing involved. Each writer/director just happened upon the same general idea and melancholy tone, setting the mood with fantastic soundtracks (Simon & Garfunkel, The Shins and Coldplay for the former; Tom Petty, My Morning Jacket and Elton John for the latter). Both movies tell the story of a career-sad, 20-something guy who heads back home to bury a parent. While there, he meets the girl and has to choose between his old life and new love. Strange, no?

Winner: Garden State by TKO. It got there first, cost less to make and generated far better reviews.

Back story: This rivalry comes down to source material. Both pictures draw on the eccentric life of author Truman Capote, and his travels to Kansas to research a murder, which formed the backbone of his nonfiction masterpiece, In Cold Blood. The basis for Capote was Gerald Clarke's book, Capote: A Biography, while Infamous was based on George Plimpton's Truman Capote: In Which Various Friends, Enemies, Acquaintances and Detractors Recall His Turbulent Career. Released a year earlier and anchored by Philip Seymour Hoffman's Academy Award-winning performance, Capote generated better reviews and bigger box office numbers. When Infamous finally arrived, it was judged against the earlier film, rather than on its own (considerable) merits.

Winner: Capote, if only because it can paste "Academy Award winner" across the top of its promotional materials.

*All domestic box-office gross information is derived from BoxOfficeMojo.com.
**Metacritic.com scores are based on a mathematized calculation of critical opinion. Movies are rated on a scale of 1 to 100, with a higher score indicating a higher level of critical esteem.